Author: bapace007

I love to travel, do arts and crafts and photography. But most of all, I like to combine them all.

Magic doors

Taxis were delightful. They were always immaculate and the seats were invariably covered in white lace fabric. When it was time to get out, the doors opened as if by magic–though I’m sure it was through the driver’s command.

In Kyoto, foreigners aren’t particularly welcome as they overwhelm this small town. In that town, taxi drivers hesitate to pick ip foreigners. so a whole separate cab business has developed: “foreigner friendly taxis”. The term is emblazoned on the taxis so foreigners know that they can effectively flag these taxis down. Not surprisingly, these taxis are often driven by foreign immigrants, who often also speak English.

So would you be like me– a little worried about inadvertently soiling the pristine white interior of a taxi? (I’m a klutz by the way.)

Getting ready for a trip to Germany

Lobster is what I think of first when planning a trip to Boston.

We were planning a trip to Boston for a business meeting and said, “Hey! We’re well along the way to Europe. Let’s go!” We settled upon Germany, because Brenda wanted to finally put her German language minor in college to good use.

Lufthansa offered flights from Boston/Logan to Frankfort, so we opted to visit that area. Once there, we considered our options: travel hither and thither, staying in various places, or establish a base of operations in one place and explore the environs. We opted for the latter, eschewing the multiple unpack/pack cycle. We also travel light, so readily finding a laundry with time to use it is a must. (At least, our seatmates on the flights home would prefer it.)

The next decision was where to establish our home away from home. There’s where the DK travel guides for Germany came in handy. The Rhineland offers an abundance of pleasant towns to choose from, so we felt we couldn’t make a wrong decision. We opted for Koblenz because it was convenient to both the Rhine and Moselle attractions, and was large enough to provide lots of different fun things to do and enjoy over our stay.

What about touring the countryside? Car or train? We opted for the convenience of the German railway system. We will use their affordable and convenient rail pass to avoid dealing with auto insurance, parking, and foreign language highway signage. The train system offers direct service from the Frankfort airport to Koblenz and convenient service from Koblenz to other towns and cities that we wanted to visit. And we won’t have to worry about driving after Wine tasting our way through the countryside.

Just a few more details to take care of and we’ll be ready for our trip. What about you? Where in Germany would you like to go?

Rock n Roll Heaven

Elvis Presley changed the world of rock n roll as completely as other stars like the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Jerry Lee Lewis. So when we were in Memphis, TN visiting our daughter’s family, we had to see Graceland.

My husband, who was not a fan of Elvis, was shocked to see the huge quantity of gold and platinum records awarded to Elvis.

According to Wikipedia, “In August 1992, he was awarded with 110 gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums and singles, the largest presentation of gold and platinum record awards in history. According to the latest data from the RIAA website, Elvis has a total of 117 gold, 67 platinum and 27 multi-platinum album awards by the organization.” That’s a lot of award winning songs.

His house, while large, isn’t as palatial as those of modern day rock star homes, although it does include more than 37 acres. And it was designed to also house his parents.

Today Graceland is a huge tourist draw for the area. We took the walking tour but there are lots of other options. Expect to wait in line for tickets, and then for entry to the house. Once inside, traffic is controlled so it isn’t crowded.

Here are a few photos from inside:

The exterior looks very southern with its columns portico and the lions and white iron benches at the front.

The peacock room with its stained glass was probably my favorite even though I can’t imagine living in an all white room. Still, that stained class was gorgeous.

The pool room was very dark and cozy.

We had a great time in Memphis. Another not-to-be-missed site is the Rock n Soul Museum.

So what do you think. Do you want to visit Graceland?

Olympic Hopes

At the train station arriving in Nagano, a delightful Japanese town that hosted the 1998 winter Olympics.

These are cool statues along the access road to the shrine.

We were drooling as we passed the shops with their food samples in the windows. This is the restaurant we came back to for soba. Yum.

There is a 7 springs hike nearby.

And here is a gorgeous hand painted manhole cover celebrating the famous apples from the region. They are deservedly famous. I became addicted to the fresh apple juice, apple sake, and fresh apples.

A mn so outlines the sacred places at the temple.

The beautiful shrine appears embraced by the trees.

A fruit stand where we bought one of the famous apples.


Nagano was one of my favorite places in Japan. I think it was the apples. Do you have a favorite place in Japan? Where?

Samurai Sushi

We made a traditional version of sushi that was served to samurai as it was extremely portable and stayed good without refrigeration.

The finished result
The class
We all looked properly puzzled

Despite our lack of enthusiasm, our sushis, made with pickled vegetables (for antiseptic properties), nuts, snd rice were delicious.

Albuquerque bosque at dawn

Guest blog by Ray Shortridge

During the summer, it’s more comfortable to take my routine three to four mile hike along the river at dawn, when the air is still cool. Owen the wonder dog usually accompanies me. He’s more interested in checking out the bushes along the way than watching the sun rise over the Sandia Mountains and light up the Rio Grande River valley, however.

At first, the valley remains in shadow while the sun climbs the east slope of the mountains.

As the sun crests the Sandia, the atmosphere refracts the sunlight into the red and gold colors of the spectrum.

The water fowl along the river banks quack, honk, and screech as with the coming of the day.

Teen and Tween Heaven

Harajuku is always popping. It’s the epicenter of teendom, a mind-boggling array of sounds, sights and sensations. Whether you’re into balloons, cosplay, enormous cotton candies, or owl cafes, there is all that and more here.

The entrance to the most famous street in Harajuku
Sweets and food seem to be a big draw
These looked yummy but I think the window desserts were plastic.
Entrance to the owl cafe
We actually tried one of these drinks. They were awesome.
Cosplay clothes up top, hip-hop below
Kawaii (cute) backpacks and styles were everywhere
Giant cotton candies are a thing
Cats and teddy bears are a thing in Japan

So would this be fun for you? I really wanted to go in the owl cafe, but you need reservations.

Wonderfully Wierd Bosque Art

Guest blog by Ray Shortridge

Hikers in the Rio Grande River Bosque come across some curious things that add Albuquerque’s reputation for quirkiness. These public art pieces are installed within the Bosque and other open spaces rather than along the city thoroughfares.

The cottonwood in Robert Wilson’s The Cube represents the life sustaining power of the bosque. The city of Albuquerque is symbolized by the repurposed fencing of the cube that surrounds the woodlands.

Encountering Arboreal Dome by Benjamin Forgey brings to mind the black monolith in the classic film by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

However, Forgey envisioned the structure, constructed of dead cottonwood limbs, to be a recreational place for picnics, storytelling, and the like. He also felt that some would quietly reflect while gazing through the dome.

Decades ago, steel jetty jacks were constructed to prevent erosion when the river overflowed its banks. They proved to be ineffective but were too costly to remove. The rusty structures remind one of “Rommel’s asparagus” defense works along coastal France prior to D-Day.

In her work, Salt Cedar + Jetty Jacks = Green, Jill Guarino Brown used a jetty jack as the frame for a funnel woven from salt cedars to demonstrate a repurposing of the metal structures as a mechanism for harvesting water.

Several artists teamed to produce The Web a land art piece that suggests the wonders of the bosque’s interconnected natural and human ecology.

An unknown artist used a slice of a tree trunk and pieces of bark to create a totem of a great horned owl, many of which live in the Bosque.

Perhaps, the little people who dwell in the Bosque built this elf circle.

Fairies, perhaps, but beaver definitely live in the Bosque and create their own distinctive sculpture.

The metal sculpture of dancing sandhill cranes is situated near an access point to multi-purpose trails through the Bosque. This piece reminds one of the annual migration of the cranes down the Rio Grande flyway from the Arctic in late fall and their departure in early spring.

Now that you know that these delightful pieces of art are hiding in Albuquerque’s bisque, will you seek them out?